Never ones to shirk their springtime responsibilities, glowering post-punk experts DESPERATE JOURNALIST - comprised of Jo Bevan (vox), Rob Hardy (guitar), Simon Drowner (bass) and Caz Hellbent (drums) - released a brand new EP called 'You Get Used To It' on March 30th and headed out on a European tour which culminated with an excellent headline show at Oslo in Hackney Village. Now our intrepid sonic explorers go dotty with these shows here:

Following the vivacious delights of lead-off track 'It Gets Better' the second promo track from the 'You Get Used To It' EP is called 'About You', which itself follows the patented passion-strewn Desperate Journalist template of sparklingly ravaged Rickenbacker guitar tussling with singer Jo's excellently irked vocals. And, as ever, she really means it:

"I was inspired to write the lyrics to 'About You' when I briefly worked with someone who kept - unpromptedly - droning on to me about incredibly mundane things, like how the works on her house extension were progressing, or whether she was going to buy the Nissan Qashqai, or where she bought her childrens' school uniforms from.

"This is of course a normal thing for boring people to do, and bearing it politely is one of the workplace's deep joys. However in the command of this woman somehow each topic would then unfortunately turn into a rant about how her neighbourhood was going to the dogs because a Muslim family had moved in next door, or that her children were being forced to learn to be gay at school, or you couldn't say you were English these days or you'd be immediately arrested and thrown in jail, etc.

"It was as though she was a caricature of a British bigot, and it reminded me of some of the attitudes of people I'd been around growing up in suburbia. The song is an attack on that kind of thinking, where your paranoid obsession with your own back yard comes at the expense of ever really understanding anyone or anything else."

In the meantime, here are some nice things some sweethearts said about the 'You Get Used To It' EP and Oslo show:

"They're dark, but the revelations in the songs, both words and music, feel like they're making the breakout into the light and addressing issues most bands would shy away from head on. It makes them uncomfortable to listen to at times, but also absolutely vital as one of the most challenging bands around." - eventhestars.co.uk

"Their stock is rising and the sky is the limit. They are one of the most vital bands around and they've made us a promise too. "It gets better!" We'd better get used to it." - godisinthetvzine.co.uk